The apartment is so empty without anybody else in it. Now that Casey is away at school and Josie is back with her father, my apartment is just me and the empty space. I've never lived on my own before, just me. I was in the foster home and then when I left, I took Casey with me and I have always had him around to look after him. But now that he's growing up and doesn't need me as much, I have no idea what to do with my free time.

In the week that I've had alone, I've been to the library four times to read and find new poetry to obsess over. I've argued with myself back and forth about the car that is still outside of my apartment. I've thought about Micah three and a half times. I've gone to the gym almost twice a day.

I have my clients but they usually like to meet at night so that still gives me all day every day to just wander around.

Having the apartment to myself is nice when I have work though because I don't have to sneak around or try to explain to anybody why I'm dressing up, where I'm going so late, or anything like that. I don't have to hide my phone calls or worry about anybody seeing a stack of money if somebody has to pay me in cash. Which is rare but it does happen sometimes.

I make sure that I don't call Casey too much because I don't want to smother him and so to keep myself busy, I've started just cleaning the apartment.

Because today, I've already been to the library and the gym, I've showered and done my laundry and organized my makeup in the bathroom.

And so I'm listening to music and I'm cleaning. My kitchen rarely ever gets used but the dishes have been piling up a bit so I get all of the dishes done, I make my bed and clean the coffee table.

I'm so bored.

I've been asking Jill for more clients now that I don't have Casey to care for in the apartment and the extra money would be great. So she's agreed to give me more clients but I still have tonight off. Maybe I'll have a movie night with just myself.

I do have friends but most of them work with me at the escort service so it's really difficult to match up our schedules because everybody is always working when I'm free. My closest friend is Ashe but she's been on a trip for a month now. This hoity toity business guy had hired her for an entire six-week trip to Europe where he had to go for business. We text a lot but she's busy going to dinners with her client, spending the nights with him, and shopping during the days. She's having a blast.

I've had my clients take me on weekend retreats, to Florida or to the coast for a few days, but I would never go somewhere for six weeks with somebody. She seems happy though.

I also have a few friends that I've stayed in contact with from my pre-escort days but we've drifted apart ever since I started escorting because it's hard to be friends with somebody who has to be as secretive as me. And I didn't feel comfortable enough with them to tell them the truth.

So we hang out as a big group, they invite me to their parties that I go to when I'm not busy. We like each other's stuff on Facebook and watch each other's Snapchat stories but we never really hang out anymore.

And I don't even have that many things to stress about in my life either. Davis is still in jail and a girl that I work with helped me get in contact with a guy who can forge documents so he's helping me get the documents that I need to prove a legal employer so that I can get custody of Casey. My father hasn't tried to reach out to me ever since the car appeared in front of my apartment and Micah has completely disappeared.

That last part about Micah isn't a good thing but it's not a stress either. I miss hanging out with him, even though we'd only seen each other three times total but I do miss him. He apparently really heard me though, when I said that we can't see each other, and he's completely respecting that. Even though I kind of wish that he wouldn't. We're over though, so there's no stress, just a little bit of sadness but I'll get over that.

The biggest problem I have to face right now is that stupid car. I have really enjoyed having a car with me this past week. I've driven out of the city a few times just to enjoy some fresh air without honking horns or bright lights. It's so quiet away from the city.

And I can to some places faster. The traffic in D.C. is brutal so taking the train is better in some cases. But in others, it doesn't hurt to have a car around. But by accepting the gift, I'm basically accepting his apology. And is my forgiveness really that easy to earn? Just buy me a car and I'm all yours?

I don't know yet. Which is why I've been avoiding the situation. And because I'm using the car until I decide to keep it or not, I guess that I could just keep avoiding the situation until I forget what the situation even is and I still have the car.

I'm sweeping the hardwood living room floors when there's a knock on the front door. I'm not expecting anybody so I slowly go to the front door and peak out the peephole and I see Micah standing on the other side.

Immediately, I smile. I know that it's wrong but I can't help but just feeling relieved. I don't care why he's here, I'm so happy that he's here, that I can see him again. Because I've really missed having him to talk to.

Swinging the door open, I'm only aware of the fact that I look like crap after I've already revealed myself to him. My hair is in a messy bun, I'm wearing an oversized long sleeved t-shirt and shorts under that. I've just been cleaning so I wasn't exactly trying to dress to impress.

"Hey," I greet him slowly.

"I think that I figured it out," He informs me. "Can I come in?"

"Um. Yeah, sure," I open the door a bit more so that he can walk in and I shut the door behind him. "Do you want coffee or anything?"

"No, I'm fine," He says.

"Alright, well what is it that you've figured out?"

"Why you freaked out at the party. Look, okay, I know that I seem crazy right now. Coming over here and everything, because you said that we shouldn't be talking anymore. But I'm not obsessed with you or anything," He promises me. "I just really like you and I've convinced myself that you only said those things because you felt like you had to, and that you really like me too. But if you just tell me that you're not interested, I'll leave and I won't come back. I'm not going to start stalking you or coming over here unannounced all of the time. This is it, I just think that I figured it out."

"Micah," I put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm only understanding about 60% of what you're saying right now."

"I figured out why you freaked out," He says again and then sits down on the couch. "I've been thinking about it. The night that we met, you said that your dad was a senator. I thought that you were joking but you seemed flustered around Jay. After I introduced you to him, you said that you needed to get some air. And then you kind of froze up a bit when we went over to his table after dinner."

I can tell where he's going with this. I don't know how I feel about what's happening right now but it's surprisingly not all bad. I didn't tell him because I didn't want him to have this secret, especially if his only friend in this city is Jay. But if he figured it out on his own, that means that it's not my fault that he has to keep the secret so I shouldn't feel guilty.

That, or maybe he's not going to keep it a secret. I guess that he could tell Jay, I never really considered that possibility.

"You're not going to tell anybody, are you?" I ask him before he actually gives me is closing statement.

"No. Of course not," He promises me. "But it's true, isn't it? Silas Barkley had an affair, and you're his daughter."

"Yeah," I admit to him and then clamp my lips together.

"I get why you couldn't tell me," Micah assures me. "I mean, that's a huge deal and we really haven't known each other for very long. But if that's why you didn't want to see me anymore, because you didn't want me to find out, you don't have to worry about that now, right?"

"I can't stand seeing him," I admit to Micah and I sit down on the couch beside him. "I just get filled with so much rage, thinking about how he's abandoned me and it was so easy for him to just throw me aside. For obvious reasons, he's wildly ashamed of my existence. And I hate feeling like that, so angry. Seeing his family, too, it just makes me sick to my stomach."

"I won't ask you to go to anything like that again," He promises me. "Or hang out with Jay or talk to him. I won't even talk to him about you."

"He doesn't know who I am. Silas does but he's the only one," I inform Micah. "That's a huge secret to keep from your friend."

"I don't care," He says quickly, without even having to think about it. "I won't say anything. You matter to me, Eleanor. I really like you. I know that we hardly know each other, I know that I'm being a bit irrational. I know that I sound crazy. But I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic and I can't stop thinking about you. If you don't feel the same, like I said, I'll go. But if this is the reason that you left, because you don't want to be around Jay or his family and you couldn't figure out how to tell me that... I just came over here to tell you that I figured it out and to see if that changed your mind at all."

It did change my mind.

That's exactly what I was worried about. I didn't want him asking me to hang out with his friends or ask me to go to another one of those dinners where I'd have to see Silas or his family. And I didn't want to tell Micah the truth because that's a big secret and we haven't known each other very long.

Even before he told me that he figured it out on his own, I probably would have changed my mind. I think that I would put up with Jay and Silas jut to be with Micah. I didn't think that he was worth it a week ago but now, I think that maybe he is. I guess I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic too.

"That's not my only secret," I warn him. "There's still a lot of stuff about me that I can't tell you about yet."

"I'm okay with that," He assures me.

"And what happens if you really do discover all of my mysteries? Won't you get bored?"

"No, I won't get bored," Micah says. "I don't like you so much because you're mysterious, I like you so much because you're real and you're kind and funny."

"You forgot incredibly sexy with legs for days," I remind him jokingly.

"And you are incredibly sexy with legs for days," He adds with a small laugh but then he stops laughing as he realizes something. "Wait, does your brother know?"

"He does," I confirm with a nod and then I stand up off of the couch to go into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water to drink. My mouth is getting a little dry. "It wasn't just a one-time thing, Silas and my mother. They had a decade-long affair."

"Shit," Micah mutters as he takes in that information. I don't know how well he knows Silas but he seems slightly surprised by this. "So Casey is his too?"

"Yeah."

"And he doesn't give you any money or anything? He just let you go into foster care because he was afraid of hurting his chances of reelection?" Micah asks me.

"Pretty much. I mean, the story of my parents is a really long one. I know that figuring out that your friend's dad is a dirt bag is shocking but I guess if you want to sit down and listen to the whole story, I can tell it," I offer him, returning to the living room. I lean against the wall and take a drink of my cold water. "Their affair ended when I was eight though, so it's not like their story really has anything to do with me. I think that we have better things to do with our time."

"I'm interested in that story, we should come back to that. I'm more interested in what those better things are."

He says that with a perverted little smirk on his face that almost makes me blush. "Well, I've been cleaning today. Josie and Casey are both out of the house now so I've had a lot of free time. I was thinking about tackling the bathroom next."

"You want me to help you clean your bathroom?" He wonders with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, why not?" I say in response. I'm definitely joking, I obviously don't expect him to clean my bathroom for me but he's trying to be suggestive so I'm going to fuck with him until he decides to just come out and say what he wants to say or he does what he wants to do. "What else do we have to do?"

"You're killing me," He informs me as he stands up from the couch.

I smile at him, feeling happy again that he's come here. I had thought that when I said goodbye to him after that dinner that it was it for us. And as each day went by without seeing or talking to him, I wanted to see him more and more. And finally seeing him again, I just want to be in his arms and I never want to let him go. Now, the sexual tension is growing in the room and he's looking at me like he feels it too.

Before I can say something in response, he's already walking toward me until he's standing right in front of me and then within the blink of an eye, his lips are on mine.

His lips taste sweet. Sweeter than they tasted the last time that we kissed. And he smells really good too. His lips are so soft but the kiss is not. And his hands quickly grasp onto my sides like he's afraid that I could disappear if he doesn't hold on tight enough.

I kiss him like he's my breath of fresh air because that's how it feels. Like I haven't been able to breathe right until now. I feel the knots in my shoulders release, I feel myself relax into the wall as I hold onto Micah and I let him take me away into this land that I've never been to. A land of peace and bright kisses and laughter.

A land that I don't think that I ever want to leave.